In the Company of Ghosts

What happens when we look in a mirror? Do we witness the reflection of our true selves or the sum of the ghosts that travel with us? This world premiere presented at New Hazlett Theater in September 2017 was the result of a two year collaboration between veteran artists Frank Ferraro and Adrienne Wehr. In sharing their own stories with each other, they discovered universal themes common to us all, inspiring them to bring these stories to life though spoken word, video, original music, installation art, soundscapes and more.

In the Company of Ghosts resides at the intersection of actual experience, perceived memory, transformation and hope. Ferraro, diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease over 18 years ago, provides a personal glimpse into his reality, while Wehr reveals how challenge reigns as our greatest teacher. Both remind us that regardless the obstacle along the way, acceptance, release, and triumph are indeed possible after all. Presented here is the stage performance of the world premiere at New Hazlett Theater introduced by the mini-documentary The Making of In the Company of Ghosts. Both videos produced through a mentorship between Robert Morris University media arts students and the artists. Wehr and Ferraro will be present for this broadcast.

Featured Performers:
ADRIENNE WEHR is the producer, co-creator and co-performer of In the Company of Ghosts. Award-winning performer/producer, Wehr is a force in independent filmmaking. She produced and performed in the critically acclaimed, multi award-winning indie feature The Bread, My Sweet (aka: A Wedding for Bella), still in worldwide distribution and about to celebrate its 20th anniversary. She is a performer/producer for the award-winning web series Dog Bytes, The series was named as one of the “Best Web Series of 2015” at Cannes 2016. She was nominated for “Best Actor” honors at Rio Webfest in Rio De Janeiro for Dog Bytes.For more than a decade, Wehr was Associate Producer for the Emmy award-winning children’s television program Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood—the show that shaped America’s values for children and was the benchmark for quality programming. She performs for film, stage, TV and as a voice-over artist. Her other creative disciplines include still photography, sculpture, painting, movement theater/dance, writing, voice. She was recipient of Women in Film and Media’s distinguished Opal Award for Excellence in the field of Film/Media, and has been honored in the past by the Pittsburgh Post Gazette as one of “Pittsburgh’s Fifty Finest” and “Top Cultural Forces”, and among “40 Under 40” by Pittsburgh Magazine.

FRANK FERRARO is a self-taught multi-disciplinary artist. His visual work has appeared in local and international publications. His studies in psychoacoustics have led him to guest lecture at Carnegie Mellon University and appear as the featured artist on the radio program Allegheny Front. Mr. Ferraro works individually and collaboratively on original productions for theater. The productions, gravity + grace, String of Pearls and In the Company of Ghosts premiered consecutively at The Hillman Performance Art Theater, The August Wilson Center and the New Hazlett Theater. Mr. Ferraro is also a filmmaker. His first full-length documentary Wine & Dust was part of the Three Rivers Film Festival and can also be seen on WQED’s Filmmakers Corner. His latest completed film is a rare look inside the internationally known prog/rock band Crack the Sky. Mr Ferraro is currently in pre-production for his current film Valley of the Kings, a documentary on the rise and fall of the Churchill Valley Country Club.